Mali’s army says investigating soldiers accused of killing 24 civilians

In a rare investigation of human rights violations since the military’s rule in 2020, Mali’s army opened an investigation into the killing of civilians allegedly by soldiers and Russian mercenaries earlier this week.

The North of the country’s north, the Tuareg independence movement, claimed on Monday that the Malian soldiers and the Russian Wagner Group mercenaries had intercepted two civilian vehicles traveling to Algeria from the city of Gao and had “coldly executed” at least 24 of the passengers.

Without referring to the killings on Wednesday, the Malian armed forces slammed “intoxicating campaigns” against the army. The army made the announcement that an investigation into the deaths would be launched by Friday.

One vehicle was set on fire while the other escaped with some survivors, according to the Tuareg independence movement earlier this week.

One of the vehicles’ drivers’ families informed the AFP news agency on Tuesday that one car had been carrying migrants.

They were shot at by some Malian soldiers and a group of Wagner mercenaries. In the first car, everyone died. My cousin, too”, they said on the condition of anonymity.

However, Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Moroccan think tank Policy Center for the New South, stated to The Associated Press that it was unlikely that the army would find fault in the soldiers’ or the Russian mercenaries’ conduct.

Instead of trying to find any wrongdoing by Wagner, the investigation’s goal is going to be more focused on refuting the allegations made against [the army] and Wagner. According to Lyammouri, the investigation’s conclusion is likely to confirm those claims are false.

Mali has been in crisis for more than ten years. In a coup that overthrew the democratically elected president in 2020, a military group gained control of the country based on popular discontent over armed group attacks.

Mali’s military rulers, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, turned to Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries for security after breaking ties with former colonial ruler France.